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THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF EDUCATION - Coggle Diagram
THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF EDUCATION
MARXIST
Willis
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Education reproduces and reinforces class inequality.
Lads adopted counter school culture meaning they had an opposition to the norms and values perpetuated by school. They didn't value educational qualifications and they believed they were destined for manual labor work as that is what their fathers did. This led to the shop floor culture which helped them prepare for the boredom of work. They adopted distraction techniques like joking around and only caring enough to not get sacked.
Bourdieu
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Education reinforces middle and upper class culture.
The three types of capital are economic, social and cultural. Cultural capital is the culture (norms/values) passed down and reproduced from generation to generation which leads to social reproduction and advantages for the middle class. The middle class possesses the most cultural capital and this is valued by middle class institutions like the education system. This is disadvantageous to other social groups. Cultural capital is measured through cultural participation, reading habits and participation in extra curricular activities.
Althusser
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Education legitimates class inequality through ideology.
The education system has two main functions:
1.
Reproduce the necessary skills for an efficient labor force.
2.
Reproduction of ruling class ideology and socialization of workers in terms of it. This is done via ideological control using ideological state apparatus (media, law, religion, education) which creates a false class consciousness so the working class are less likely to challenge the ruling class.
Bowles and Gintis
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Education teaches exploitable skills for the capitalist workplace.
There is correspondence (correspondence theory) between school and work whereby teachers reward obedience and hard work while discouraging creativity which is directly in line with employer requirements in a capitalist society. This is essential for social reproduction and produces workers that accept their position in capitalism from one generation to another. Meritocracy is a myth. Rewards in education and occupation are based not on merit but on social background. The higher the persons social class of origin, the more likely they are to attain high educational qualifications and a top job.
FUNCTIONALIST
Durkheim
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Education teaches social solidarity and a value consensus.
Social solidarity is unity and belonging. Value consensus is shared values. Education encourages this e.g. history teaches national pride, everyone wears the same uniform etc. Citizenship lessons reproduce functioning people who have political awareness.
Durkheim
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Education provides specialist skills for the workplace.
Specialized division of labor. Education ensures people have skills for SDOL and teaches children skills for their future roles. Education benefits wider society as it develops specialist skills for the workplace and economy. Modern society has a complex DOL as there are so many more jobs that need different skills. This reinforces solidarity.
Parsons
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Education provides secondary socialization (universalistic values and shared British culture).
Primary socialization judged by parents under particularistic values. Education judges by universalistic values. Education acts as a bridge from child at home to an adult in the workplace. Schools instill value of achievement and equality of opportunity.
Davis and Moore
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Education allocates roles ready for workplace (based on functional importance and meritocracy).
Selects and grades pupils for future roles in society. Schools operate on meritocracy, reward hardest working with higher grades and better qualifications. Ensures employers can identify most able individuals to fill most important positions.
NEW RIGHT
Education Reform Act 1988 League Tables, Ofsted, Formula Funding
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Education improves standards through reducing sate involvement and increasing parentocracy.
There is no competitive edge for schools to improve. Need to give power to parents = parentocracy. Schools therefore have to respond to what consumers want. A market led system will make education more accountable and save taxpayer money. Too much effort for equality, should be more focused on standards. If standards of schools improve then standards of all students will improve and reach their potential.
League Tables
- summarize average GCSE performance. Helps parents make informed choices. Monitors progress for improvement.
Ofsted
- Quality check to make sure base level education is delivered to all students in all schools. Rating system informs parent choices.
Formula Funding
- How much money allocated to each school. Funding per child.
Section 28 of Local Government Act 1988
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Education promotes traditional conservative values.
Prohibited promotion of homosexuality by local authorities. Schools could not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality or promote the teaching in any schools of the acceptance of homosexuality as a family relationship. Until 2003. Attempt to influence core curriculum to promote traditional and conservative social and cultural values e.g. marriage, nuclear family, abstinence.
Murray
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Education encourages values of competition and meritocracy.
Too romantic and has neglected simple realities of students abilities. Not everyone is smart. In attempt to make education fair, its lost sense of meritocracy. Too many people going to university devalues degrees. This is bad as society functions on how educated academically gifted people are. Those not successful in education still valuable just in less skilled vocations.
New Vocationalism, YTS, NVQ, GNVQ
- Range of schemes aimed at NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training) to gain skills and employment. Schools needs less focus on awareness of cultural awareness and more on specific work basked skills.
YTS
- Offer training to NEETs. Don't accept training then benefits removed. Students get paid. Encourage skilled workforce.
NVQ
- Qualifications that offer on job training and practical skills. Not seen on same level as educational qualifications. Popular with trade jobs. Demonstrate competence in tasks to pass.
GNVQ
- Training in key sectors aimed to offer academic knowledge and practical skills. E.g. health and social care, travel and tourism. Aimed to enable students to develop skills for the workplace.
SOCIAL DEMOCRAT
Halsey
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Education promotes and reinforces a culture of equality of opportunity for all in relation to social class.
Middle class children were more likely to get places in remaining grammar schools and thus from a democratic approach believed that a new system should be implemented to provide greater equality of opportunities. E.g. comprehensives introduced to replace tripartite system which was seen to disadvantage working class students.
City Academies 2000
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Education promotes and reinforces a culture of equality of opportunity for all in relation to ethnicity.
Improve education for black and minority ethnic students. Publicly funded schools running out of local authorities. Improve curriculum access. English language classes and in class support for targeted students. Increasing more cultural awareness.
Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) 2004
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Education promotes and reinforces a culture of equality of opportunity for all in relation to social class.
Students doing at least 12 hours of weekly learning or further education courses in colleges such as A-Levels would receive a maximum of £30/£20/£10 a week. Encouraged students to earn and learn and stay in education for higher qualifications. Working class students valued immediate gratification. They could support themselves and their families while learning.
Curriculum 2000
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Education promotes and reinforces a culture of equality of opportunity for all in relation to gender.
Tony Blair New Labor Gov 2000. Completely revised A-Level and GCSE curriculums to make them modular. Students take modules as they go rather than one large exam at the end of the entire course. Split A-Levels into AS and A2. Flexible, broken up studying designed to make work less stressful and allow students to understand content better = increased standards. Better for girls as they get more stressed.
Sure Start
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Education prevents wastage of ability.
Work with parents to provide physical, intellectual and social development of babies. Compensate for children who may find themselves already behind before school starts. Opportunities to make children more 'school-ready' to harness potential.
The New Deal
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Education encourages the teaching of meaningful vocational skills to prepare students for work.
Aimed at NEETs. Volunteer work for 6 months/job with training/full time education. Don't do it then no benefits. Improve job prospects of young people and gives them skills.
FEMINIST
Skelton
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Education socialises students into a culture of inequality through the hidden curriculum.
Hidden curriculum is not the national curriculum. E.g. stereotypes girls are discouraged from stem based on teacher perceptions. Students live up/down to these labels based on subconscious bias.
Kelly
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Education reinforces the ideologies that prepare students to accept the patriarchal world of work.
Science is packaged as a boys subject. Textbook examples are designed for boys e.g. footballs. "Invisible woman". Boys grab equipment first, shout answers, dominate classroom.
Colley
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Education reinforces the ideologies that prepare students to accept the patriarchal world of work.
Subject choices affected by three things:
1.
Perception of gender roles - the way the student was socialised.
2.
subject perceptions - perception of tasks/activities required in the subject.
3.
Learning environment - whether the school is single or mixed sex.
Heaton and Lawson
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Education reinforces and reproduces a culture of inequality through transmission of patriarchal values.
Cultural transmission. Hidden curriculum operates in 3 ways:
1.
patriarchal curriculum - boys sports more recognized, A-Level choices gender specific
2.
teachers expectations - girls tidy up, boys move furniture
3.
lack of positive role models - more teachers are female but more senior management staff are male (DfE 2025 - 65% teachers women, 40% head teachers women)
Spender
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Education reinforces gender role socialization.
Women are invisible in education, core curriculum is male based with limited attention paid to roles of women in history, arts, science (e.g. Rosalind Franklin vs Watson and Crick, DNA). Boys receive more attention and encouragement from teachers. Mixed sex education is indoctrination and practice in the art of domination and subordination rather than equality of educational opportunity.
LIBERAL
Newman
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Education should provide a wide ranging and diverse education for all.
Should have a more general education where students study all branches of education. Liberal education should pass on attributes of freedom, equitableness, calmness, moderation and wisdom. Aim is to develop the mind and it facilitated through a liberal education that is egalitarian not elitist.
Illich
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Education should provide students with choice and autonomy.
We should de-school by getting rid of schools. People with knowledge, skills and enthusiasm are the best people to teach. Need to develop learning webs where people who want to learn something get in contact with people who want to teach so they learn together in an informal way. People should not dictate to us what we need to learn. There should be more emphasis on vocationalism.
Summerhill School
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Education should promote a culture of democracy.
This school is a space where children grow in a 'free range' way. The school fits the child rather than forcing them to do what parents/educators think is best. Aims to allow personal development through experiencing freedom to play and learn at their own pace. Students encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions and the community around them is democratic e.g. meeting 3x week to discuss issues, hear grievances, mete out sanctions, don't have to go to lessons. Students learn to be self confident, tolerant, considerate and accustomed to hearing other people's points of view.
Huxley
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Education should be the personalized development of students.
Should develop students that learn through the exploration of new fields. It is not just the sciences thar are important but also the arts. Either art education or pure science education will lead to the distortion of intellectuality that is too focused on one specific subject. Should encourage critical thinking about the world around them and the ability to think independently rather than memorizing information for standardized testing.